WEEK 13 LANSING (WEEK 84 0F MISSION)

hey everyone! no time this week! 

Last Week Transfer Day
Loading up the Van again!

so the mission department of the church is coming to our mission tomorrow... sweet right?? thats why we have no time! trying to prepare for that! haha itll be soo cool!!! 

things are going great here at msu. sooo nice to have students on the campus again haha. felt like during christmas break we would talk to the same people every day! "i know you said you weren’t interested yesterday, but what about today? no? darn... well... see you tomorrow!" haha anyway... things are great. xiang li and mark are total bosses!! we got to see mark again for the first time since his dec 6 baptism. he is the coolest. he loves teaching with us and got a copy of preach my gospel so he can help his friends understand why he lives the way he lives. we gave preach my gospel to xiang li too and then we met with him like 4 days later and he was like... "i love that book! especially chapter 11! how to help people keep commitments." 

"how much of it did you read xiang li?"

"remember when you first taught me you asked me to read the scriptures and study for 10 minutes/day at least? well i study for an hour a day. so i read the whole book."

hahahah he is the greatest. so fun to teach with them because they are so eager to tell how the Gospel has blessed their lives. Mark calls blessings "benefits" so he always teaches people that if you will believe this then you will receive all the benefits. derek martindell is doing well. his schedule is really open so he will be teaching with us all day every day! best converts ever! 

Isn't what we believe incredible?? God knows all things. We have no way of knowing what tomorrow will bring. How utterly unreliable are our own plans and thoughts. We would be much wiser to seek counsel from God. We don't always end up doing what we want to do, or even what we planned to do. But all that really matters is if we end up following God's plan for us. We ought to counsel with God in all our affairs so as to not be going the wrong direction. Obviously this idea has a lot to do with why God gave us parents. Nephi teaches in the first verse of the Book of Mormon that what made his parents goodly was that they, "taught him somewhat in all [their] learning..." Our parents have been there before. They love us. Their deepest desire is to see their children be happy and successful. This is the same situation each of us are in with our Heavenly Father. Hearken to (which means to hear and then, most crucially, to obey) the counsel of your parents and especially the counsel of your Heavenly Father. His direction often comes through His prophets, whose duty it is to set standards and determine right and wrong in our day and age. Follow their counsel. Disobedience is the dumbest thing we can do, for we know not the consequences, but God does. Therefore, in order to maintain our happiness, He gives us commandments, which if we follow their course, will point us, "through this vale of sorrows to a far better world of promise." (alma 37, near the end of the chapter, cannot remember the verse off-hand. I recommend reading it). 

Love you all! have a good week! 

WEEK 12 LANSING (WEEK 83 OF MISSION)

hey everybody! It’s transfer week!  Which means me, a van, and 11 other missionaries driving around the state of Michigan for 13 hours tomorrow!  Should be good! (When Bro. Hoover visited us he said that Parker drives approximately 1400 miles delivering the missionaries to their new areas!)

Not a ton of time to talk tonight, but some quick updates! Richard Li (the investigators, not the awesome recent convert) and zilu are doing well.  We have been meeting regularly and they are progressing toward baptism. 

School starts again tomorrow, which is very exciting!  That means we will be able to talk to people again! at least... we will next week haha cuz we will be busy this week. But things are good! richard li (Recent Convert) is doing incredible.  He has so many good questions and is taking tons of institute classes.  He is the greatest. 

I am so thankful for the Plan of Salvation and the proper perspective it provides. Things that mean the world to other people are very important to us, but we can view them in their proper light thanks to the restored truths in the Plan of Salvation. School work is important, but it is the means to an end.  We don’t have to work a job to have a purpose in our lives. Instead, we work because we want to, because we can learn and grow and provide for our families. We don't have hobbies because we need a distraction from the mess we call mortality; we don't have hobbies because we need a way to escape our conscience prodding us about why we exist; instead, we embrace hobbies because we truly enjoy those activities.  In their proper perspective, hobbies and pleasure cease becoming the purpose of life (we work and save money so we can have time and money for our hobbies and to do things that make us happy), and become something we don’t do to fill a void, but to enliven our earthly experience.  Isn't it incredible to know why we exist?  To have the answers to what Hugh Nibley called the, "terrible questions?" Why do I exist? What happens when I die? What things will bring me peace?  You see, the Gospel is much less God's arbitrary rulebook than it is the advice of a super-intelligent Being who loves us. God tells us the natural consequences of sin. That is what a commandment is. Why would we then not follow the commandments? 

As you study the Gospel, think deeply. There is so much more than meets the eye. Seek the Spirit and a testimony of this work. If it is true, then we truly are here to become more like our Father and I can think of no better reason to live.  If it is not, then I can still think of no better way to live. But the best part about the Plan of Salvation is that it is true, and that you can know for yourself if it is, if you will but seek that knowledge. 

Elder Green 

WEEK 11 LANSING (WEEK 82 OF MISSION)

hey everyone! what a great week! happy new year!

so we have had some incredible things happen lately. richard li (different richard li than the one that got baptized a few weeks back) and his friend zilu have been loving learning the Gospel and attending church. their first week there they both stood up to introduce themselves and basically bore their testimonies. then they had us over for "hot pot" yesterday (traditional chinese style of eating). hopefully i wil have a picture soon! it was so good! they are doing great and we will be baptizing them in the coming months! 

Hot Pot with Richard, Elder Rhodes, and Chris Jones.
Zilu took the picture.

we met another awesome chinese guy named chen. he had just purchased a philosophy book to teach him the purpose of life. he said he was looking for peace and purpose or else he would, "be very mad." so we walked him to the institute and taught him right there. he loved the restoration and at the end we asked him how he felt about all of it. he said, "like... a dream." 

"what do you mean chen?" 

"i believe this is true."

"awesome! that is great chen!"

"but... it is... so beautiful." 

chinese people are the best! haha sadly he feels too busy to meet right now. but hopefully he will come back around soon.

richard li (the one that was baptized in december) just returned from his trip. he is doing so well! it was so good to see him at church again! he bore his testimony again this week and told the coolest story. he was in New York with his friends and they all wanted to go see a musical, but he didnt want to. so they all went and he stayed and went to Times Square by himself. He was looking around and saw everyone with their families and all of a sudden felt very alone. he was looking at all the advertisements and suddenly, the "He is the Gift" add appeared on the giant electronic billboard in Times Square! he said that it was the last thing he expected to see! but when he saw it he said that he felt that Jesus loved him and that he was not alone anymore. 

He said that he had never been one to express emotion before or to tell his family or anyone that he loved them. but at that moment he felt he needed to call his mom and tell her he loved her. he only ever called her for money before. she answered the phone (it was the middle of the night in china) and asked what was wrong, assuming there was an emergency or why else would her son call in the middle of the night. 

He replied nothing was wrong, he just wanted to tell her he loved her. Knowing this was out of character, she replied, "yeah, yeah, how much money do you need this time?"

Richard explained that he didnt want money. he just wanted to tell her he loved her. He said he had felt God's love and now he wanted to share that with her and with everyone. 

What an incredible story right?? he is so awesome. i am so thankful to be serving here. The Plan of Salvation is incredible. you can see God's love all through the plan of salvation. we have few reasons to be sorrowful if we know the plan of salvation is true! 

Thank you all so much for the love and support you have given me throughout my mission! 

we are transfer planning this week and then transfers are next week! so that means no sleep, lots of logistics, and driving a giant van full of missionaries! 

have a great week!

WEEK 10 LANSING (WEEK 81 OF MISSION)

Parker didn't do a group email this week.  I think he is trying to write everyone that sent him Christmas cards and presents.  Thank you so much for all the support you give him.  He was so appreciative.  We had such a good time talking to him on Christmas morning.  He loves his mission and the people so much and hasn't allowed us to talk about him coming home, but he did tell us his release date is May 20 -- but who's counting?!? 

Goofy Games at the Half-Mission Christmas Party
That's whip cream in the top of his hat and someone had to
throw cheeseballs into it!
The Saran Wrap is to protect his shirt and tie.

Having some fun on a busy Tansfer Day

The Transfers Moving Trailer that Parker pulls around with
his awesome Van!

A Very Sunny Day in Michigan  ;)

WEEK 9 LANSING (WEEK 80 OF MISSION)

hey everybody! how are you? hope things are going well! 

Merry Christmas everybody! thank you all so much for sending me letters and presents and things! i am attempting to write everybody back a hand written card so be patient with me! 

Things have been great at MSU. we have our half-mission Christmas Party tomorrow in Grand Rapids and Wednesday in Mt Pleasant. it will be great! there will be some short trainings from Elder Rhodes and me, many musical talents from the missionaries, and lots of mini games and jeopardy. it will be sweet. pictures to follow. 

Everyone here is doing well. Richard is attending church in DC and doing great. Mark is doing well too. Derek is home for the holidays as well haha. its basically us and like 5 people who are still here. but we still managed to invite lots of people to learn this week and find many new investigators so God is still blessing us! We have had some wonderful lessons with new investigators lately. 

Some thoughts I have had recently... I love this quote from a Neal A. Maxwell talk where he quotes another guy:

Becoming a true believer, however, means trusting not only in the Lord's plan for all of mankind but especially trusting in His unfolding and particularized plan for each of us. This means much more than merely acknowledging that God is in charge. Alma's warning that living without God in the world is "contrary to the nature of happiness" (Alma 41:11) was not just for agnostics but also for passive believers. Putting first things first is vital, as these eloquent words of Malcolm Muggeridge attest:

When I look back on my life nowadays, which I sometimes do, what strikes me most forcibly about it is that what seemed at the time most significant and seductive, seems now futile and absurd. For instance, success in all of its various guises; being known and being praised, ostensible pleasures, like acquiring money or seducing women, or traveling, going to and fro in the world and up and down in it like Satan, exploring and experiencing whatever Vanity Fair has to offer. In retrospect all these exercises in self-gratification seem pure fantasy, what Pascal called "licking the earth." They are diversions designed to distract in this world, which is, quite simply, to look for God, and, in looking, to find Him, and, having found Him, to love Him, thereby establishing a harmonious relationship with His purposes for His creation.[Thomas Nelson, A Twentieth Century Testimony (New York, 1978)]

Isn't that true? As i review my life, the saddest points are the times when i spent the most time for that which ended up being of little or no value to me. when my priorities were out of line. Serve others this Christmas season and throughout the year. It will bring you joy. Gain a spiritual witness from the Holy Ghost that God our Father lives and that He loves each of us. Find out for yourself if the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. These things are worth the time. Family is worth the time. Developing  a Christlike character is worth the time. 

Why does God command that we judge not? Is it because people's feelings get hurt? Possibly in part. Is it because we ourselves are not perfect? that definitely is true also. I think it is mostly because we would just get it so wrong. we know so little about a person. all we know is what they put off. we know nothing of their thoughts, very little of their past, and not much about who they truly are. God sees and knows all. This is why we must leave judging up to Him. He says, unequivocally, "of you it is required to forgive all men." (section 64: 9-11). no exceptions are made. we do not have to trust everyone, but we must forgive. "but they did this!" He lovingly responds that He will set it all straight. He can heal you. He will, in the end, make all things right. Forgive and forget. Ask God to heal you of the wrongs that have been done to you. Celebrate the birth and life of our Savior this Christmas by forgiving as He so patiently forgives us. 

Elder Green

WEEK 8 LANSING (WEEK 79 OF MISSION)

No group letter yet this week but i guess the pictures tell what he's been up to!  He said the "Angry Assistants" pics are a tradition.  

These two cute elders are Taiwanese Visa-Waiters that
taught on MSU campus with Parker last week.

Richard's (Xlang Li) Baptism, December 6

Mark's (Chenyu Wang) Baptism, December 6

Derek Martindell's Baptism, December 13

Parker, Elder Rhodes, and Elder Derricott
on Transfer Day

MLC
Parker said some people missed the memo that they
weren't supposed to smile in this pic!

WEEK 7 LANSING (WEEK 78 OF MISSION)

hey everybody! not a ton of time! 

life has been great! this week richard li and mark wang were baptized! it went so well. pictures to come in the near future. they are both incredible. they were confirmed that sunday and richard bore his testimony! he shared his conversion with everybody and about how at first he thought we were "fake monks" trying to get money from him. but after our first lesson he knew that we were sincere and that what we shared was good. 

he also told me, a few days before, that he never felt guilty for the things he had done until he met with us. i didnt expect anything more than that because he wasn't accountable for the sins he previously committed. I asked him that if all meeting with us did was make him feel guilty, then why would he want to be baptized? he told us that his life has improved immensely since he started living what we taught him. he said that since he comes from china and from a non-religious background that it would be very hard to convince him that God was real or that anything we taught him was true, unless he could see it change his life. he said that even though he was hard to convince and had no religious beliefs previously that he has felt such a change and a righteous desire that he knows it must be real. what an incredible experience to be able to teach  him.

derek martindell will be baptized this week. he is incredible too! 

gotta go! love you all! hopefully we can learn something from Richard's testimony! read and pray about the Book of Mormon! 

love you all! 

Elder Green

WEEK 6 LANSING (WEEK 77 OF MISSION)

Bro. John Hoover, Parker's former Branch Mission Leader 

and now 1st Counselor to the Mission President, 

stopped by our house for a visit and to deliver this Michigan 

Helmet for Parker!!!

He is a former School Superintendent, Teacher, and Coach in Michigan.  He has collected sports memorabilia for 

30 years.  He was visiting his daughters in Orem this week.

What an amazing man!

Xiang Li (also known as Richard), Elders Rhodes
and Derricott and Parker.
Richard took them to dinner at an awesome Chinese restaurant.

"Sparty," the statue.  Parker says this statue is a big deal!

Beaumont Tower on MSU Campus.
There is a WebCam on this tower that Todd and I
can look at a live feed of campus!
Maybe we will see Parker someday!!!

Downtown Detroit

Reunited with former Comp and Converts
during Zone Conference travels!

Back at Barb's with Elder Williams and
Hannah and her son :)

Looking so smug with Barb's son Andrew!

Hey everybody! Happy Transfer Week! 

This week Elder Derricott, Elder Rhodes and I planned with President Jacobsen where the missionaries would be transferred to and who their new companions would be. wow time flies! feels like I just did this a few days ago, but it has been six weeks already! that means its time to get back on the transfer van Monday and start moving some missionaries! we will be sending some missionaries home whose time has come (Elder Elwood being one of them). That also means we will be getting new missionaries! that is exciting! 

so things are going way too well with our investigators. Richard is doing incredible. he amazes us every time we meet. he took us to dinner last week and we are attending a baptism with him tonight before his baptism next Saturday. 

Mark is doing very well. He will be baptized on the 13th of December. It is incredible how perceptive these people are who have never learned of heavenly things before. 

Derek Martindale is doing great. as we taught him the other day, we asked him how he was feeling about his baptismal date for the 13th and he said, "it works." we all kind of looked around and let the silence hang there, looked back and him and he nodded again and said, "it works," with a smile on his face. he is doing so well! the incredible part of all this is that we deserve none of it. we have hardly had time to work in our area, and these awesome people have all come out of nowhere. 

We had to do some shopping and things today because we will not have pday again next week due to transfers. while we were out and about, i couldnt help but feel extremely on edge and tired the entire time. the world and all of its flash is exhausting. we dont often notice it until we are removed from it for a time. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Give me truths, for I am weary of the surfaces." How correct that statement still is. Compared to the truths of the gospel, the worldly cares and advertisements are wearying and they are simply surface things. 

Joseph Smith taught that the things of God are of great import and that it takes deep, solemn and ponderous thought to find them out. "Thy mind, o man, if thou wilt lead a soul to salvation must stretch as high as the utmost heavens, and contemplate the deepest abyss." I encourage each of you to examine what things you prioritize in your lives and what things you hold of highest import. The truths of the gospel are deep and satisfying, you can feel that. The things of the world are simply not; they are salt water. 

How are we, in the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, to remain at peace? Follow and stick with the Brethren. Follow the counsel of the Living Apostles and Prophets. Read the words of Christ as they are taught in the Book of Mormon and other standard works of the Church. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the most logical explanation for earth life, and it brings the greatest joys as well. If you have questions, find answers, not in the theories and ever shifting ideals of the world, but in the voices and words of oracles of God on the earth. Spiritual questions deserve spiritual answers from God. 

Each of us is an immortal being. Your family members, friends, and even you yourself have outlived, and yet will outlive stars and galaxies. 

Have a great week,

Elder Green  (Talk of the Week: Neal A. Maxwell, "Pathway of Discipleship")

WEEK 5 LANSING (WEEK 76 OF MISSION)

Even missionaries "Duck Face!" 
Parker with Elder Ken Schmutz
 

President Jacobsen with the Zone

Since Parker lives in Student Housing at MSU these are some 
of his fun college neighbors!
That's a lot of pairs of glasses in one picture ;)

poem i wrote this week:

Smooth water ne'er made

a man a great sailor,

but when winds and strong waves

and all things assail Her,

the sailor reacts

and learns as he goes,

and stronger, wiser,

more able he grows.

But should the sailor fail

to endure the rough seas,

should his heart and his mind

long to sail with more ease,

he never could learn 

what can only be taught

when the sky is pitch black

and the waters distraught.  

Hey everyone! having to email today (sunday) due to zone conferences this week! 

speaking of zone conferences... Elder Nash was unexpectedly reassigned this week and will not be able to attend our zone conferences! so Elder Derricott and i will be doing a lot of teaching haha we are working hard to prepare for this surprise opportunity!

This past week was great. our investigators are doing wonderful. Derek Martindale is hunting and was not able to attend church, but he has been coming to all the institute activities and is doing very well! we were blessed to find a few new investigators this week, which is always great. a few of them have a ton of potential (well, every human life has a ton of potential) but these people could be baptized soon. we will see how they pan out this next week, then i will let you know! 

mark (chinese guy wanting to go to BYU) came to church for the first time today. he is doing well! he needs to keep reading and praying to know if this is God's church and he needs to make it out to some of the many social activities the YSA ward has here. 

Richard is doing so well. He is signing up to feed all the missionaries like once a week haha he is great. he loves learning. a few times, we have taught him new commandments and he has issues with them. but he agrees to pray about it and try it out. he came back last week reporting on how he has been living the Word of Wisdom. He says that he used to have problems with insomnia, but not since he has been living the WoW. He feels much healthier and loves the way his life is going right now. He enjoyed church again today, is making lots of friends, and is really excited to be baptized. 

Saturday we blitzed the North Muskegon area and it was really fun. it has been snowing here like crazy, so we got all decked out in our winter stuff and went out and door knocked forever. it was great. the first door Elder Bagley and i knocked on was classic: it was a group of like 7 middle aged black guys having band practice so we went in and listened to them and one of them had a son that was Mormon haah he lives in SLC his name is Michael Williams. Look for him! haha it was awesome. 

Even though Alma had seen angels, he still felt it necessary to seek a testimony for himself. Alma 5:45 -46. read those verses. they are powerful. we each ought to do whatever it takes to obtain for ourselves that knowledge which is of most value: a testimony that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true and that God the Father lives, that Jesus is the Christ, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. We must make the effort. we must read the Book of Mormon, ponder it in our hearts, and seek after truth. We must pray fervently and sincerely. We must endure the test of time. We must fast in conjunction with our prayers. please follow this pattern. please seek a witness from the Holy Ghost that these things are true. 

the more i learn, the more i see that God is so willing to forgive our sins if we will but repent. in essence, the difference between the people in the telestial kingdom and the celestial kingdom is the ones in the Celestial Kingdom repented. they repented all the time. review elder klebingats talk from general conference and implement those principles into your lives. 

just another thought:

always be where you are supposed to be! if you are somewhere you ought not to be, get out! don't think you are strong enough to be amid great temptation and come out unscathed.

i love you all! 

have a great week.    

Trying to get a picture jumping

WEEK 4 LANSING (WEEK 75 OF MISSION)

hey everyone! not a ton of time! some quick updates! 

richard is doing incredible. he loves learning and reading the BoM. he says things every lesson that blow me away. this guy is going to be the first Chinese Apostle. He is like... committing himself to live the WoW, turning down tailgating because he doesn't want to drink. he tells us that praying is good because he feels like for the first time in his life he is himself. he doesnt have to "wear a mask when he talks to God." he just says stuff like that all the time. he is awesome. we had two visa waiters in our misison who are heading to taiwan soon, so we picked them up and brought them to work campus for a few days and teach all our chinese investigators and it went soo well! it was awesome! fe chung hao! 

mark went to a baptism of a chinese girl named echo on saturday and loved it. he wants to be baptized too. 

we underestimate what it means that God will tell us the truth and will reveal the truth to us. were it not for that fact, we would be left to float aimlessly on a sea of information on the raft we have constructed out of our own shifting biases. (Pres Uchtdorf) there is absolute truth. we can know it if we but seek it. do not take that promise lightly. 

i have more to say.... but no time! maybe i have a second... haha brother robison had 2 athiest friends over for dinner. they were both prof at msu. he asked them a few questions. where did we come from? what is the purpose of life? they had no answers. if there was no purpose in our creation, there is no purpose in life. why do we love? no answer for that either. i invite everyone to watch the video on lds.org called, "all things denote that there is a god." 

i love you all!! sorry this was so scattered!